A Secret Worth Keeping
by HazelHPwiz
Summary: After over six years, Tony and Ziva have finally gotten together. But what happens when Anthony DiNozzo Sr. shows up with news that could change everything. Will they be able to keep their relationship from him, or will they suffer the consequences? Tiva!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, I'm back! Sorry I haven't written much for the past few weeks, I've been super busy and totally out of ideas. But this one just popped into my head today so I hope you all like! **

**Disclaimer: NCIS isn't mine. Nor will it probably ever be mine. Wow, that's really sad. :(**

"I cannot believe you did that to McGee."

"What? He had it coming! He stole my Nutter Butter!"

"Tony, you superglued his face to his desk."

"Yeah but you gotta admit that it was funny."

"Maybe a bit but it took him thirty minutes to unstick it!"

"Well, he shouldn't have stolen my Nutter Butter then. You know, I'm beginning to think that he might have a serious addiction to them, he goes off to get them like five times a day! Think about it, Zi, we barely see him anymore. He's either stuffing his face by the vending machine or going off to see Abby." Tony and Ziva strode out of the elevator, hand in hand, their smiles wide. Ziva rolled her eyes at her partner, moving over to her desk and dropping her bag on her chair. Tony walked over to her once he'd done the same, slipping his arms around her waist.

"Movie tonight? My place?" He murmered, glancing around for any sign of Gibbs before resting his forehead against hers.

"You wrote my mind." Ziva replied, smiling.

"Read, not wrote Zee-vah." Tony answered, leaning in.

"I'm gonna go get a Nutter Butter!" McGee announced, jumping up from his chair and cringing as he ran out of the room.

"See what I mean?" Tony exclaimed, taking a step away from Ziva and running a hand through his hair. "I'n tellin' yah, Zi, a serious addiction."

"He's not the only one." Gibbs stated, entering the Bull Pen and dropping a coffee in his trashcan before picking another up off of his desk. "Dead Petty Officer, Calvin Cross Elementary School. Drug overdose. Grab your gear!"

...

"So, boss, why are we here if the dude just died of a drug overdose? I mean, its not like he was murdered or anything." Tony said, snapping a picture of the house as he walked up to the front door behind Gibbs, closely followed by Ziva and McGee.

"Does that answer your question, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked sarcastically, opening the door to reveal a young man lying in a pool of blood, a hole the size of a marble in the side of his head.

"Yeah boss. Sorry boss." Tony replied, cringing as Gibbs' hand made contact with the back of his scull.

"Don't apologize." Gibbs snapped as he walked deeper into the house, towards the four police officers and two witnesses in the back.

"Well someone's in a good mood." Tony said, taking a few pictures of the dead body.

"What? How? He just Gibbs-Slapped you." McGee asked, watching Gibbs scare the police officers.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that I only lost fifteen brain-cells that time instead of the usual thirty." Tony answered, flashing McGee his famous DiNozzo smile.

McGee rolled his eyes, walking over to the two witnesses, a maid and her nine year old daughter. Tony turned to Ziva, who was also rolling her eyes at him, giving her a hurt expression.

"What?" Tony questioned, pouting.

"You can be such a child sometimes." Ziva answered, taking the camera from him and slowly walking around the room, taking pictures.

"What? Me? A child?"

"Yes. You, a child." Ziva raised her eyebrows at him, snapping a picture of his astonished expression before grinning and turning back to her work.

"Now who's the child?" Tony mumbled, pulling his hat lower over his face as he glanced outside for any sign of Ducky and Palmer, who had probably gotten lost again.

"The agent about to find himself out of a job!" Gibbs barked across the room. "Get back to work, DiNozzo!"

...

"I honestly cannot believe Gibbs called me a child. I mean, sure, I like to goof off sometimes, but I still get everything, and more, done that I'm supposed to!" Tony whined, stepping out of the elevator beside a very amused McGee.

"I'm guessing that 'and more' referred to movie references, pranks, and flirting with every woman in a five-mile radius." McGee smirked, rolling his eyes at a flabbergasted Tony.

"Of course it does! And, I do _not_ flirt with every woman in a five-mile radius!" He argued, stomping his foot like a child.

"Oh, sorry, my bad. A ten mile radius." McGee said over his shoulder, rounding the corner to his desk before stopping short.

"WHAT!" Tony yelled, following the ex-probie, about to give him a piece of his mind, when he saw someone sitting on top of his desk, smiling brilliantly at him.

"And then Tony was like-..." Jimmy Palmer trailed off, hopping up from Tony's chair and ducking behind an amused Abby.

"Why hello junior! How very nice of you to join us! I was just listening to some extremely humorous stories about you, told to me by this very lovely lady and this awkward young boy." Anthony DiNozzo Senior said, standing up and smiling at Abby.

"Dad! What are you doing here?" Tony asked, almost fainting on the spot.

"I was in the neighborhood and I wanted to stop by. I actually was just on a flight with a very interesting man, he's currently flying back to Israel, though, he just had some business to attend to here in DC."

"Great..." Tony muttered, tired of hearing about his father's 'new best friends' and 'fantastic business partners'.

"Yes. Actually, he was very interested in you. Apparently, you two met a few years back and he said he'd like to have dinner with us the next time he's in America." Senior announced, smiling. "Now what was his name..." He pondered, pausing for effect.

Tony sighed, rolling his eyes at McGee while he waited for the name of the next big millionaire to pop out of his father's mouth. Glancing at his watch while he waited, Tony wondered where Ziva was, she said she was coming straight to NCIS, yet she still hadn't showed. Tony hoped she was alright, it was just his luck for his father to show up and then Ziva to not be there for moral support.

"Ah, yes." Senior said, grinning as Tony turned towards him, looking as if he was interested when really he was just wondering when his dad would leave so he could go search for Ziva. "That's right, his name was Eli David."

**Did you like? I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but it'll hopefully turn out being good. Hopefully :) Review please! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Thanks so so so so so much for all of the reviews/favorites/alerts on this story, I'm really glad you like it! Here's the next chapter, sorry I'm posting it kind of late, I'm writing three different stories at the same time (which, in hindsight, was probably not the best decision) and if you add the mounds of homework and studying I have to do for the end of the year exams and spring sports, I have pretty much no time. Okay, I'm going to stop now because I'm beginning to whine :P Well, anyways, here you go! Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: NCIS is mine! Huh? It's not? When did this happen?**

Tony glanced at McGee, who looked just as queasy as he felt. Eli David, the man who most probably hated his guts, wanted to have _dinner_ with him? Yeah, maybe to poison him but certainly not to catch up like old pals. Senior looked at Tony expectantly, as if he was wondering why his son wasn't jumping up and down excitedly like Abby after a few too many _Caf-Pow!'s_. But what was he supposed to do, thank his dad and say he'd love to dine with the Director of Mossad. Talk about a death wish.

"So, what do you say?" Senior asked, smiling like everything was perfectly normal.

"Um, I don't really know if that's the best idea..." Tony began, glancing at McGee for support.

"Yeah, I'm sure Ziva's D- I mean, Director David wouldn't want to dine with Tony." McGee said, mentally slapping himself for his screwup.

"What was that about Ziva?" Senior questioned, raising his eyebrows at a clearly panicking McGee.

"Uh..." McGee said, biting on his lip furiously.

Tony glanced around, looking for something, anything, to save him. Abby was currently frozen, her eyes wide, Palmer looked like he was going to throw up he was so nervous, McGee was obviously no help, and Ziva was striding out of the elevator with an extremely annoyed expression on her face. Wait, Ziva?

...

"He said that Ziva's here!" Tony announced, trotting over to his partner and dragging her back towards Senior.

"Wha- Tony!" Ziva yelled, about to say more when she noticed Senior staring at her with an amused expression on his face.

"Why hello Ziva." Senior greeted, smiling charmingly.

"H-hello Mr. DiNozzo..." Ziva said slowly, glancing at Tony to see make sure that this was actually happening and not just some sort of random nightmare. After all, if Anthony DiNozzo Senior was here, that usually meant trouble.

"Please, call me Anthony! Or Tony, either is fine." He said, his smile growing.

"Okay..."

"So, anyways, Junior and I were just talking about going out to dinner with a friend of mine when he gets back in town, if it's not too much trouble, would you possibly want to come along?" He questioned, Tony's heart dropping to his stomach.

"No, I think Ziva would much rather stay home! I'll even stay with her so she doesn't get lonely. Oh no, that means that I can't come either. Whoops, sorry Dad. Well, gotta go, people to see, cases to solve." Tony burst, once again grabbing Ziva's arm and dragging her towards the elevator, only letting go once she karate chopped his hand.

"Well, I'm sure Ziva will feel differently when I tell her who it is." Senior argued, walking over to the two. Abby, Palmer, and McGee glanced at each other, their expressions fearful as they thought about what Senior was offering. "I promise you, Ziva, you'll love him. And as a bonus, I'm sure that if you knew him you'd be able to get a better job than this."

Ziva glanced at Tony, wondering why he was acting so jumpy, aside from the obvious fact that his father was here. Turning back to Senior, she realized that if the two were to spend more time together, then Tony and Senior would probably form a better relationship. Aside from the fact that whenever they were in the same room together, one of the two, usually Senior, always said something to embarrass or annoy the other, this plan would definitely work. Although, if she were to come on this dinner, then maybe she'd be able to get the two to actually get along, as well as possibly ease Senior into the idea of her and Tony dating.

"Okay, that would be fine..." She agreed, trailing off when she saw Tony's completely horrified expression.

...

"Great! So, would you like to know who the guest is?" Senior asked, ignoring the fact that Tony had just slapped himself on the back of his head.

"Now, I really think we should rethink this..." Tony began, clutching at the tiny hope of waking up any minute and realizing that this was all a dream.

"Junior, hush." Senior said, turning back to Ziva with a smile. "Okay, so the guest of honor is... The Director of Mossad!"

"What!" Ziva asked, her mouth dropping open as she scared a wary glance with Tony.

"Is that a problem?" Senior questioned, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Nope, none at all! Well, see you later, Dad. We really have to go." Tony said, not wanting his father to know that the two were related and possibly bring it up when he and Eli were 'discussing business' or whatnot.

"See, I knew you'd be okay with this dinner! Junior was completely overreacting. Actually, though, I was surprised to hear that you both had the same last name. But when I asked if he had a daughter he said, 'Not in Israel, no. My daughter Tali's dead.' Do you know a Tali? Maybe you two went to school together or something?" Senior questioned.

"Nope, she doesn't. Now we gotta go. Bye!" Tony yelled, slamming his fist against he elevator and ducking inside, practically throwing three Probies out of his way.

Ziva entered after him, still numb from the news that Senior knew her father, and she had just agreed to have dinner with them and Tony, who happened to be the one person her father would never want her to date.

"Tony..." Ziva started, pressing the button for the ground floor, intent of getting some coffee at the shop next door.

"I know. Just when our lives seem to finally be on track, Senior shows up."

**How was it? Be honest! Did it stink? Or was it the bestest story in the entire universe! (Haha, no.) Review please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey people! Again, I'm glad you're enjoying this story, I'll try to update more than I am right now! I just need to find the time to actually right... Anyways, I know the last chapter was kind of a filler chapter but hopefully this one will be better. Read on! :)**

**Disclaimer: NCIS is not mine... Too bad for me :P**

"What are we going to do, Tony. We cannot ignore this forever." Ziva said as she walked towards a small table for two at the other end of the coffee shop.

"No, not forever. Just until we can purchase two plane tickets and move to Antarctica where we will live in an igloo, never to be seen by our fathers again." Tony suggested, sitting down at the table across from her.

"We are not going to move to Antarctica." Ziva said with finality, taking a sip of her coffee. "But we have to decide what we're going to do with this problem before it throws up in our faces."

"What?" Tony asked, confused.

"What?" Ziva replied, wondering why Tony looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter.

"Blows up in our faces, Zi, not throws up." He corrected, chuckling.

"Tony! This is not the time to correct my English!" Ziva snapped, setting her coffee down. "When my father finds out that we are dating he will not hesitate to kill you."

"I know... Hey, why don't we just not tell him!" Tony said, smiling like he just had the most brilliant idea in the world.

"Tony, at Mossad you are taught to detect lies before you learn to walk. He will know, whether we tell him or not." Ziva answered, glancing out the window back at the Navy Yard.

"Well then... Maybe we can both get sick the day of the dinner!" He suggested. Seeing her expression, he quickly revised his previous thought. "I know, I know, he'll just reschedule. Why does my dad always seem to befriend the most dangerous people? That is the real question."

"I do not know, Tony. But we still need to find a solution to this proble-" She was cut off by a shrill ring coming from her pocket. Taking her phone out, Ziva quickly answered it, turning away from Tony as she did. "Hello? Yes, okay, right away, thank you."

"Who was that?" Tony questioned once she had shoved the device back in her pocket.

"The director. We're wanted in MTAC..." She said, standing up and making her way to the door, throwing away her now cold cup of coffee as she went.

"Great. As if things couldn't get any worse." Tony muttered, following her outside and back towards NCIS, wondering what was going to bring them to an early death quicker, Ziva's dad, or whatever was waiting for them in MTAC.

...

"Agent DiNozzo, David." Vance said as Tony and Ziva entered MTAC, their eyes set on Gibbs, who was sitting in the center of the room, avoiding their eyes, his sight set on the screen in front of him.

"Director." The two agents said together, walking up to him.

"What's this about, Director?" Tony asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

"Well, about a month ago a team of agents flew to Israel where they joined up with two Mossad agents in trying to catch a known arms dealer. Just yesterday, though, this team was found dead in Tel-Aviv, along with one of the Mossad agents." Vance began, Tony's heart-rate picking up as he realized where this was heading. "I talked to Sec-Nav and he decided that he wanted two of our best agents on the job of finding this arms dealer. You and Agent David will be working alongside another Mossad agent undercover in pursuit of finding this arms dealer, Christopher Bond."

"Seriously! Christopher _Bond_?" Tony questioned, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yes, is that an issue Agent DiNozzo?" Vance questioned sternly, raising his eyebrows.

"No sir. Just wondering." Tony replied quickly, turning to the screen.

"Anyways, you two will be flying to Tel-Aviv in the morning and will be staying there for from a week to a month. A driver will pick you up at your apartments at eight AM, be ready." Vance said, turning around and walking out of MTAC.

"Um, boss?" Tony asked, noticing Ziva's slightly fearful expression. "Do you think this is the best idea?"

"Gibbs, my father does not like Tony. He'd probably have someone kill him before he even stepped off of the plane." Ziva said, walking towards Gibbs.

"I know, that's why you're going with him. You better have his six 24/7, Ziva, or you might just be flying back here alone." Gibbs said, furious. It was just like Vance to send to of his best agents to Israel, with pretty much a guarantee that they wouldn't come back in one piece. "I gotta have a word with Vance. You try to convince you're father."

"What?" Ziva asked, confused, as Gibbs stormed out of the room, not bothering to answer her.

"Convince me what, Ziva?" Tony and Ziva's eyes widened as they slowly turned around to see none other than Eli David looking at them from the giant screen at the front of the room.

"Now we're _really_ dead." Tony muttered, gulping as Eli just raised an eyebrow at them.

...

"Why are you forcing us to travel to Israel?" Ziva snapped, getting directly to the point.

"Maybe I just want to see my daughter face to face." Eli replied, keeping his façade up.

"The real reason, father." Ziva argued in Hebrew, ignoring Tony's confused glances.

"That is the real reason, Ziva. I'm not arguing with you about this. One of my agents is dead and I want the best person for the job investigating that. Forgive me if I believe this is you." Eli answered in Hebrew as well.

"But why Tony? It is no secret that you do not like him. Are you just sending him on this mission so that he will die?" Ziva questioned harshly.

"Why on earth would I do that? And even if I was doing that, what would you care, Ziva? He's just another ignorant American agent." Eli said, glaring at an extremely confused Tony.

"He is my partner."

"Is that all?"

"What exactly are you accusing me of?" Ziva questioned through her teeth.

"Nothing, Ziva. You just seem _very_ attached to him, that's all." Eli replied, shooting another glare at Tony.

"No I am not. Goodbye, Father." Ziva answered, racing out of MTAC, her expression furious.

"I really need to learn how to speak Hebrew." Tony muttered to himself, following Ziva out the door and back towards the elevator, wondering what the heck just went on in there.

**Well? Was this chapter any better than the last? Review please! :D Oh yeah, by the way, who else isn't going to be able to concentrate at all tomorrow until 8 PM? Am I the only one? I just really hope no one dies this time around... :P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've had exams going on and haven't had any time to spare. But I tried to make this chapter a bit longer to kind of make up for that, sooo here ya go!**

**Disclaimer: NCIS isn't mine, but I sincerely wish it was because then I'd be responsible for making the finale as fantastic as it was. :)**

"Ziva!" Tony called, bursting out of MTAC and looking around frantically for Ziva. Spotting her storming towards Vance's office, Tony raced after her, glancing down into the Bullpen to see Senior looking up at him with a curious expression.

Gritting his teeth, he finally caught up to Ziva, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. Ziva yanked her arm away, looking like she was going to murder someone. Noticing she was on the verge of tears, Tony pulled her in, smoothing down her hair.

"What's the matter, Zi?" He asked, his voice soft as a few tears escaped her eyes. "It's okay, we'll sort this out."

"Tony..." She began, looking up at him as he wiped a stray tear off of her cheek. "If you go to Israel, who knows what my father will do to you. If you go, Tony, then you might not come back-." She cut off, biting her lip so that she didn't break down again there and then.

Tony glared at the agents staring open mouthed at them, his expression remaining stony until they turned back to their work, their faces still masks of pure astonishment at seeing Ziva David cry. "Hey, don't cry." He murmured, looking back down at Ziva with a great sense of Déjà vu as memories flooded his mind. They'd been through so much throughout the past seven or so years and he wasn't about to let one possible death mission ruin that. "We'll get it sorted out."

"You are right. I am sorry, I am being irrational." Ziva said, flushing as she realized she'd just started sobbing in the middle of the squadroom.

"There's nothing to apologize for." Tony replied, thinking of Gibbs' infamous Rule Six.

Ziva stepped back, pulling the bit of hair still remaining in a pony tail out of the rubber band and shaking the curls loose. Taking a deep breath, she managed a small smile, grateful that she had a partner like Tony.

"Just wondering, what _were_ you planning on doing to Vance before I stopped you?" Tony asked curiously, grinning back at Ziva.

"Tony, if I can kill someone 18 different ways with a paperclip, do you not think I'd be able to make use of the variety of office supplies sitting on his desk?" Ziva questioned, tilting her head to the side, her smile growing.

Before Tony could respond, Gibbs strode out of Vance's office, his jaw set. Walking over to the pair, he looked at their close proximity suspiciously before turning to Tony.

"So, boss, what's up?" Tony questioned, taking a small step away from Tony as Gibbs continued to stare him down.

"Vance is demanding that you leave, saying he'll have your jobs if you don't. We're sending a protection detail with you on the plane but after that you're on your own, so, word of advice, don't act stupid. If we don't hear for more than four hours in a row, we're dispatching a team of agents to bring you home, no questions asked." Gibbs said, his glare shifting in the direction of Vance's office. His gaze softening ever so slightly, Gibbs turned to Ziva. "Go home, get some rest. You'll need it." Looking back at Tony, his expression hardened. "You better have each other's six, no matter what." With that, he brushed past them, storming back into MTAC.

Tony looked back at Ziva, who's eyes were trained on the spot where Gibbs had just disappeared back into MTAC, no doubt going to have a word with Sec-Nav. "Ziva, you should really go home now, you need the sleep." Tony said, his heart sinking at the prospect of going home and spending the night watching countless movies alone.

Ziva just nodded, stretching up on her toes and pressing her lips to Tony's. A moment later, she pulled away, giving him a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she turned and walked down the stairs to the Bullpen. Tony sighed, it was just his luck that not even a month after he started dating Ziva and his life became the best it had been since... well... ever, his world came tumbling down.

...

"Please explain to me why you have to stay at the most expensive hotel in town!" Tony exclaimed as he dragged Senior's bags into his suite, plopping them down by the door and looking around in astonishment. "Dad! Do you seriously need a three room suite? Can you even afford this?"

"Calm down, Junior, NCIS is paying for it." Senior replied, opening the mini-fridge and inspecting it's contents.

"What? Why?" Tony asked, looking down at Senior. After a moment of silence, in which Senior didn't feel it was prudent to respond, Tony walked over and closed the fridge, forcing his father to look up at him.

"Well, because I'm friends with Eli David, Director Vance thought that I could assist the mission that you're going on." Senior responded, standing up and brushing off his pants.

"Wait, you're coming with us?" Tony questioned, his eyes widening.

"Of course not! But when Eli comes to DC in three days, I'm going to show him around a bit. He's actually going to be staying just down the hall from me." Senior replied, smiling at his son.

"So you're going to repay NCIS for asking for your services by staying in a three room suite at the most expensive hotel in DC." Tony deadpanned, shaking his head. "And why is Eli David coming here when he's sending Ziva and I on a most possibly suicide mission to Israel?"

"That's just how he does things." Senior replied, ignoring Tony's expression at his comment. "Thank you for bringing my bags up here, Junior, but you should go now, I need to rest up for tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot that _you_ needed to rest." Tony answered, walking towards the door. He was halfway down the hall when he heard his father call him back, sounding desperate.

"Junior!" Senior yelled again as Tony rushed back into the room, expecting to see him dead but knowing he probably just wanted him to fluff his pillows or something.

"What?" Tony asked, sighing deeply when he found Senior standing in the same place, smiling.

"I almost forgot to ask you. So, what is you're current relationship with Ziva?" He questioned, using almost the exact same words that he'd said the last time he asked Tony about their relationship.

"Ziva?" Tony repeated, trying to keep his voice steady as he thought about what Eli David would do if he found out they were dating. "Dad, I told you, we're coworkers. That's all."

"That's not what it looked like today." Senior said as Tony's stomach dropped to his feet. He'd completely forgotten that Senior had been in the Bullpen when they'd left MTAC. Biting his lip, his heart racing, Tony said the first thing that popped out of his mouth. "Dad, that was nothing. Please don't tell anyone. I gotta go, bye!"

Rushing out of the room, Tony banged his fist against the button for the elevator, tapping his foot while he waited for it to reach his level. When the doors finally opened, he slipped inside, pressing the button for the ground floor. Just as the doors were closing, though, he could have sworn he heard Senior yell, "It didn't look like nothing!"

...

Ziva slumped down on her sofa, pulling a blanket over herself as she thought about everything she'd been through today. She couldn't believe that she'd broken down like that over next to nothing earlier today. Both her and Tony had been to Israel before and had returned in one piece, so what was the problem? Ziva realized that the main issue here wasn't the fact that they were going to Tel-Aviv, but it was just the thought of what happened the last time they were there that still sent shivers down her spine. Would just the memory of everything they'd done there be enough to make Ziva break?

The other problem with them practically going into the belly of the beast was that there was a distinct possibility that Eli would find out about their relationship and 'make Tony disappear', or worse. Ziva didn't know if she'd be able to handle Tony leaving, not now, not after all they'd been through, and certainly not after they'd finally gotten together.

A loud knocking broke Ziva out of her musings, and she quickly shook her head to rid it of any other thoughts of the upcoming mission. Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it was only seven PM, she still had thirteen hours until she'd be picked up and shipped off to Israel. It actually wasn't the prospect of going back to her homeland that scared her, it was of the unknown that could happen once she got there that made her legs wobble.

Swinging open the door, Ziva was surprised to see Tony leaning against the doorframe, wringing his hands and bitting his bottom lip furiously. Noticing her looking at him curiously, Tony managed a smile before slipping past her into her apartment.

"Tony? What is wro-" She was cut off by Tony, who looked considerably like he was going to puke.

"We have a problem! A giant, humungous, problem that might possibly end in both of us dying at early ages." He burst out, pacing back and forth.

"What do you me-" Ziva was again cut off by Tony.

"My dad knows about us." He said, turning to face her and watching as the expression on her face changed from confused to astonished to angry to worried back to angry.

"What!" She yelled, her mouth popping open. "Tony, did you tell him?"

"What? No!" Tony argued.

"Then how does he know?" Ziva questioned, a stream of Hebrew cuss words flowing off of her tongue as she attempted to make sense of the situation.

"He kind of saw us... kissing..." Tony said, trailing off when his queasy expression was met with one of defeat.

"I am so stupid!" She yelled, slapping her hands against her face. "How did I not notice him?"

"No, your not stupid, Zi. I saw him, I should have said something but I forgot all about it in about five seconds." Tony admitted, shaking his head as he realized that this all really was his fault.

Ziva sat down on her couch, again wrapping herself in the blanket and staring off into space. It seemed like everything she feared was finally happening. Tony looked at her for a moment before walking over to her limited movie selection and grabbing a random DVD out of the cabinet. Slipping it into the DVD player, he moved back to the couch, sitting down beside Ziva. Wrapping his arms around her, Tony finally began to relax. As Ziva leaned her head on his shoulder, attempting to forget everything that was going on, the tension finally left his body and he was able to concentrate on that moment in time, not on anything else that might happen in the next week. The two stayed like that for the rest of the night, even after the movie ended and they fell into a restless sleep, all the time still wishing to freeze time and stay in that moment forever.

**I know, super cheesy. But I was super tired when I wrote this so I just decided to leave it like it is. Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! So, since school's almost over, I'll be updating more regularly so the next chapter should be up Friday or Saturday. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. If I did then the next episode would be on in less than a week. **

"What d'you think she's doing up there, boss? It's eight-oh-nine, Ziva's never late." McGee murmured, looking up at Ziva's apartment building. He was currently sitting in the front seat of one of the many NCIS cars, next to his mute boss boss.

"I don't know, McGee. Why don't you go and find out." Gibbs said, breaking his silence for the first time since when he opened his front door to see McGee biting his lip, asking if he could accompany Gibbs to the airport where they'd leave Tony and Ziva in the hopefully competent hands of two other agents.

"Okay..." McGee replied, gulping as he tried to avoid his boss' gaze, stepping out of the Dodge Charger.

"Well, you gonna just stand there McGee?" Gibbs barked, making McGee jump about a foot in the air, shaking his head and nodding at the same time as he quickly slammed the car door, rushing towards the door of the building.

Stepping into the lobby, McGee walked over to the half-asleep man behind the desk, ringing the bell a few times. Once the man was fully coherent, McGee asked if he could go see Ziva, his words practically stumbling out of his mouth as he explained how he was from work and was there to pick her up. The man just nodded, taking a sip of his ice-cold coffee before slumping back down on his desk, his soft snores quickly filling the room.

McGee glanced at him one more time before making his way towards the elevator, glancing out the large glass window at Gibbs, trying to tell if his boss looked angry or was just glaring at no one in particular again. According to Abby, Gibbs had been doing this ever since he'd left Vance's office the day before, and he'd barely said a word in the past 12 hours.

When the elevator doors finally opened, McGee practically fell inside, tripping over his feet as he spun around and punched the number for Ziva's floor. A few moments later, the double doors slid open once more to reveal a drab hallway, a few potted plants and rugs strewn about haphazardly. McGee set his sights on Ziva's door, maneuvering his way around fallen umbrella stands and lost and lonely keys and hats, until he finally reached the end of the hallway.

"Ziva! Wake up, are you in there?" McGee called, knocking on the door. After a few moments, the silence practically choking him, he knocked again, wondering what on earth could be taking her so long. Still not hearing a reply, McGee pounded his fist against the wood, his heart rate picking up as crude thoughts of Ziva being dragged away flashed through his mind. "Ziva!" Silence. "Ziva, I'm coming in!"

Stepping back, the agent launched himself forward, effectively kicking down Ziva's door and sprinting into the room. His mouth popped open at what he saw before him. Tony, wild-eyed and only wearing a pair of blue boxers, jumped up, karate chopping the air. Less than a second later, McGee's eyes were torn away from the couch, were Tony was still hopping up and down, slapping the air, by a sudden, dark shape jumping at him. The next thing he knew, McGee was in a headlock, pinned against the wall as he looked down, scared to death, at a focused Ziva.

"McGee! What are you doing here?" Ziva snapped, still holding him against the wall.

"Yeah, McGee. What made you think busting into a ninja's apartment at five in the morning was a good idea?" Tony chided, now standing still on the couch, looking at McGee with a pitying expression.

"Uhhhh, Ziva?" McGee asked, momentarily ignoring Tony's question as he struggled for air against her tight grip.

"Sorry, McGee." Ziva replied, taking a step back and moving her hands to his shoulders, which she still pinned against the wall.

"Answer the question, McGee!" Tony demanded, plopping back down on the couch, his chin resting on the back of it.

"I have a question for you, Tony. First of all, why would you think its five AM when its as bright as day outside? Second, why are _you_ in Ziva's apartment? Third, why are you in your underwear?" McGee questioned, turning a light red as Ziva stared him down, her gaze never swaying from his half-terrified expression.

"Well, McCurious. Ziva and I _happen_ to be dating." Tony replied, grinning as if he'd just answered the million dollar question.

"And that answer's what?" McGee countered, raising his eyebrows and avoiding Ziva's probing glare.

Tony was about to reply when the sight of a certain functional mute standing in the doorway made his words slowly fade away, replaced with a silence so thick you could cut it with a knife.

...

Gibbs just shook his head, nodding at Ziva to let McGee go before looking back at Tony raising his eyebrows and sighing deeply. "DiNozzo, David, your flight leaves in an hour and you're going to be on it." He said, the tone of his voice clearly stating that it wasn't a topic to be discussed.

"Righto, boss." Tony called at an attempt of lightening the situation, all the while still half naked.

"I'm not going to ask." Gibbs just replied, turning around and walking out the door. As the elevator dinged open, the three heard him call, "Be down in five, or find yourself with no job!"

"Well that went well." Tony said, smiling. Ziva just rolled her eyes, flying past the two into her bedroom. A moment later, she emerged, this time pulling two suitcases behind her.

"Wow, Ziva, I never labeled you as a heavy packer." McGee said, nodding towards the suitcases.

"I am not. This is Tony's." She responded, pushing the larger of the two over to Tony, who seemed just as surprised as McGee. "I knew you would forget or put packing off until the last minute, so I used my key to get into your apartment and packed this for you before you came here last night. You are welcome."

"Thanks." Tony said, both happy that he didn't have to pack for himself, and a bit worried by what Ziva had packed him.

"Tony, uhhhh, you should probably put on some pants before we leave, you know, just cause some people at the airport might think you're a bit strange."

"No problemo, McGee." Tony replied, grinning at McGee's uncomfortable expression as he quickly redressed.

"Anyways... Uh... Lets get going." McGee said, averting his eyes from a laughing Tony and grabbing the agent's suitcase, pulling it out the door.

Tony rolled his eyes, grabbing Ziva's suitcase and following McGee, reaching the elevator a moment later just as Ziva was locking her apartment door. Once Ziva joined the two, the double doors had slid open and they all entered the elevator. McGee, still a bit sheepish, pressed the button for the lobby before retreating to the back of the elevator, wanting to be as far away from Tony and Ziva as possible just in case they spontaneously started kissing or something.

With a ding, the doors slid open again a few moments later and McGee rushed by the two, still toting Tony's suitcase, practically running to the car in his attempt to escape the awkward atmosphere surrounding him. Gibbs popped the trunk when he saw McGee nearing the car, and the agent thankfully shoved the suitcase in between a few empty coffee cups before returning to the front seat. He closed his eyes, trying to close out the world around him as he thought about what life was going to be like for the next week without either Tony or Ziva. The Bullpen was going to be dead silent, not counting the always ringing telephones of course, and he'd probably be spending most of his time with Abby, who would be freaking out the entire time, expecting half of their little 'family' to be killed at any minute.

"See, we made it on time! No need to worry, McGee!" Tony chimed, sliding into the backseat. Gibbs started the car, rolling his eyes as Tony began talking animatedly about some movie he'd seen a week ago.

"Tony, no one is listening." McGee said after ten minutes of pure torture in which Tony decided to compare the directing styles of two people the probie had never heard of.

"What? Of course they are! Ziva's listening, aren't you, Zi?"

"Of course, Tony." Ziva replied, grimacing as she glanced out the window.

"Boss?" He asked.

Gibbs grunted in response, which Tony took for a yes. Smirking at McGee, Tony began to compare the many Bond movies, making remarks here and there pertaining to Sean Connery and the many films he was in. McGee, almost going crazy as he thought about the twenty more minutes he had to endure before they reached the airport, finally brought up the topic he'd just sworn he'd never think about again, much less talk about in front of his boss. But desperate times call for desperate measures and to him, anything was better than listening to Tony chatter on about movies.

"So, Tony. Why were you in your underwear?" McGee asked offhandedly, grimacing as he prepared for the response.

"Uhhh, well, um, I, Ziva and I, we, umm..."

"My air conditioning went out halfway through the night, McGee." Ziva explained, cutting the stuttering Tony off. "And for some reason Tony felt the need to take off his pants. "

"Hey! That was not my fault!" Tony argued as Gibbs and McGee chuckled at Ziva's disbelieving tone. "Seriously! It was at like two in the morning, I was half asleep, and I thought I was at my apartment. Really!"

"Okay, Tony. Whatever you say." McGee replied, laughing, glad he brought it up. Tony had finally stopped talking about movies and was muttering to himself about people never believing him, pouting, and if five minutes of awkward conversation was all it took to do that, McGee would never let him live this down.

...

"DiNozzo! Grab your bag!" Gibbs barked as Tony began marching towards the airport entrance, still fuming that his coworkers laughed at him.

"Sorry boss." Tony muttered, jogging backwards until he reached the car, grabbing his suitcase out of the trunk and slamming it shut before running to catch up with everyone else.

"So, Tony, um, two agents are going to accompany you to Israel..." McGee trailed off, looking around. "They should be here somewhere..."

"TONY!" Tony turned around just in time to see Abby rushing at him, followed by Palmer and Ducky. A second later, Abby collided with him, knocking him backwards as she hugged him tightly.

"Abs, can't breath!" Tony choked.

"Sorry, Tony!" Abby said, pulling away from him, her face wet with tears. Turning around, she grabbed Ziva from where she was conversing with Ducky and then brought them into a bone-crushing group hug. "You guys better come back safe," she murmured, her voice muffled. "Or else you're gonna have me to deal with."

"Okay, we'll try." Tony replied as Abby slowly let them go, slapping them both on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You won't just _try_, you _will_." Abby demanded, glaring at them.

"Abby, we'll be back in a week." Ziva reminded her, glancing behind the Forensic Scientist to where two agents in well tailored suits had appeared.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much!" She cried, hugging them one last time before she turned around to see where everyone else was staring. "Looks like its time to go..." She trailed off, another tear making its way down her cheek as she realized that this might be the last time she saw the two.

"We will miss you too, Abby." Ziva said, looking at Tony with a worried expression.

"Yeah, Abs. We'll think about you all the time." Tony reassured her, sharing a look with Ziva.

As the rest of the team quickly said goodbye, Gibbs giving them head-slaps before pointing to the agents, Tony began to feel an impeding sense of doom. He was going into the mouth of the lion, the belly of the beast, with only a thin hope of returning. The agents nodded at them, motioning that it was time to go, before turning around and walking towards the bag check area. They all figured it would be better this way, to say goodbye at the entrance rather than at the gate where they'd all really be sobbing.

Tony took Ziva's hand in his as they slowly walked away from their family, not caring who saw them or what Gibbs was thinking at that moment. After all, the Boss-Man _had_ agreed to let them date in the first place, as long as they kept it out of the office and all that, so _technically_ he couldn't be mad that they were just holding hands. The rest of Tony's time at the airport was a blur, checking his bags, going through the Metal Detector and Body Scanner, finally waiting in line at the gate, looking around at all of the other excited soon-to-be passengers around him with a churning stomach. When he finally got on the plane, sitting down in the middle seat next to Ziva, he was already feeling like he was going to puke, and only one thing in the world could make it worse.

"Dad!" He cried when a familiar man sat down in the seat next to him, giving the two agents across the aisle the evil eye.

"Junior! So, turns out I'm going to be accompanying Eli to the states so I get to go to Israel with you two and stay there for three days until we both fly bad to DC." Senior said, smiling at a wide-eyed Ziva. "So, how are you today, Ziva?"

Tony sighed, shaking his head. The feeling of dread was back, but this time not because of their trip to Tel-Aviv, but because of who they were taking it with.

**This chapter actually took me two days to write, just because I kept getting distracted and didn't start writing until like past 10 each night. I actually thought of the first part of this chapter with the help of my best friend, another Tiva shipper, which definitely sped up the thinking/writing process of it! Anyway, review please & I'll try to update sooner than I have been doing! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Sorry it took me so long to update this, I haven't had as much free time as I would have liked to have now that school's over. I was actually going to update this on Thursday for my friend's birthday, but ran out of time. So here it is, like four days late. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, no matter how many dandelions I wish on. **

"Well, this is comfortable. Don't you think, Ziva?" Senior asked, looking past Tony at an uncomfortable looking Ziva.

"Um, yes. I suppose." Ziva replied, giving him a half-smile, half-grimace.

"Dad." Tony said, raising his eyebrows at his father.

"What? I'm just making conversation, Junior." Suddenly, the seatbelt icon above them began flashing and the pilot's voice cam on the intercom.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mike and I'm going to be your pilot today. Please fasten your seat belts, the ride to Tel-Aviv is expected to be smooth flying with no delays. Thank you, and have a nice flight!"

"I wish." Tony muttered, glancing at Senior, who was still grinning at Ziva.

As the plane took off, Tony wondered how on earth he was supposed to survive sitting next to his dad, who would no doubt be flirting with Ziva, the flight attendants, and any other woman who walked by him the entire right. He'd have to think of more than one excuse to leave his seat throughout the night, and unfortunately, he couldn't just say he was going to go talk to the Federal Air Marshal Art Neely, like he could the last time he was on a plane. On the other hand, it might be better to stay close to his dad throughout the night, to make sure he didn't embarrass Tony more than he already was promised to be once Senior opened his mouth again.

"So, Ziva." Senior said, giving the agent the classic DiNozzo Smile. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Oh my freaking gosh. Dad! Really?" Tony questioned, glaring at his father. It was just like Senior to play dumb, pretending that he didn't know the two were dating, just so that he could get Ziva admit it, although Tony didn't know why it mattered so much to him who admitted what.

"What? It's just a question." Senior replied innocently.

"Yeah, I question you know the answer to." Tony added, still glaring at his father.

"Oh, that's right." Senior said, ignoring Tony and speaking directly to Ziva. "Junior said something about you two dating yesterday, didn't you Junior?" Not waiting for a reply, he continued. "Now, Ziva. I have to ask, is this a serious relationship? What I mean by that is, would you break up with Junior if, oh I don't know, a better option came along?" He asked, winking at Ziva.

"Dad, _please_ stop trying to seduce Ziva." Tony said, exasperated.

"What do you mean, seduce her? I'm just trying to see if she really is as into you as you seem to think she is!" Throughout this entire conversation, Ziva had been sitting by Tony, looking quite amused. It was now, though, that she finally decided to speak up, something about Senior's words bugging her.

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked, looking past Tony at his father. "Do you think that I would break up with Tony if some other man were to snatch my eye?"

"Catch my eye." Tony corrected, looking around innocently so that Ziva couldn't catch his own eye and glare at him.

"Thank you." Ziva said coldly, still staring Senior down.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that. I'm just trying to make sure that you don't end up breaking Junior's heart. You know, he can get pretty attached to some people." Senior replied, shaking his head as if that was the most pathetic thing in the world.

Ziva was about to reply when the flight attendant, pushing a cart full of peanuts, sodas, and other assorted tasteless airplane food. "Why hello there." Senior said, giving the flight attendant a full blast of the DiNozzo smile.

"Hi." She replied, giggling. "Um, would you like a soda, peanuts, water... What?" She trailed off, wondering why he was staring at her.

"I'm just admiring your gorgeous face." Senior replied, ignoring Tony's audible sigh. "And I'll have a water."

"Okay." She replied, smiling sweetly. Handing Senior the water that had been sitting on the top of the car, he was about to take a sip when one of the agents across the aisle stopped him.

"Actually, can we have a bottle of water for him? That you open right here?" He said, glaring down the still blushing woman.

"Um, okay..."

"No, no, no. You really don't have to do that if you don't want to." Tony said, looking up at the attendant with pleading eyes. After all, would it really be so bad if his dad dropped dead in the next ten seconds? All it would mean is that they wouldn't have to go through any more awkward questions.

"Yes you do." The agent demanded, still glaring at the now slightly shaking attendant.

"Thank you." Senior said when she finally gave him his new cup of water as well as the freshly opened bottle, taking away the old one. Tony sighed, it looked like this time, he wasn't getting off that easy.

...

"Excuse me sir, but you're not allowed to use your cell phone while the plane is landing." The flight attendant, who Senior had discovered was named Skye Lebleu, said, nodding to his phone.

"I'm sorry, Skye, wasn't it?" When she nodded, giggling, he continued. "I just need to take one picture."

Turning towards his son, Senior quickly snapped a photo of the pair, grinning. Slipping his phone back in his pocket, he smiled at the woman before turning back to his son. Halfway through the flight, Ziva had fallen asleep on Tony's shoulder, snoring softly, and less than ten minutes later, the Senior Field Agent was passed out as well. They had stayed that way for the remainder of the flight, and Senior wanted to remember this moment, or at least have something to show off to his business clients later.

As the plane finally landed, Senior prodded Tony in the shoulder, sighing when, per usual, he didn't wake up. "Ziva!" He called, smiling when she sprung up in her seat, looking around wildly. "We're here!" Senior announced, gesturing out the window to where they could see the bright lights of the airport shining through the darkness.

"Finally." Ziva said, stretching her arms above her head. "Tony!" She whispered, prodding Tony. "Tony, we are here!" Still no reply. "Senior, do you still have that bottle of water?"

"Yeah, I think I have it here somewhere." He muttered, sticking his hand into his briefcase, which was shoved under the seat. "Here! Why, what're you planning?" He asked, handing it to her.

"Well, in my experience, this is one of the only ways to wake Tony." She explained, unscrewing the top and slowly tilting the bottle over Tony's head until it was almost completely empty.

"AH!" Tony yelled, attempting to hop up but not getting very far considering the seat belt was still restraining him. "Ziva!"

"Yes?" Ziva asked innocently, trying to hide her growing smirk unsuccessfully.

"Why did you do that?" Tony demanded, trying to shake the water out of his hair and glaring at his grinning father.

"We are here." Ziva replied as the plane finally stopped and the first class passengers began to exit.

"Great..." Tony said, the prospect of meeting up with Eli David not seeming very inviting at the moment.

"I'm very excited to see Eli. Aren't you, Junior? And Ziva, I bet you really are related to Eli and didn't know it all this time." Senior said, beaming. "Well, I guess it's finally time for us to get off. Junior, remind me to speak to Eli about sitting in first class on the way back." He suggested, standing up. "You know, you could always ask him to pay for your flight back to DC as well, and boost you up to first class. I'm sure he'd be happy to."

Tony just shook his head, sharing a knowing look with Ziva, as they slowly exited the plane. As soon as they were on solid ground, walking through the small gray hallway from the plane towards the airport, the two tensed up, knowing that the worst was still yet to come. After all, they still had to actually meet with Eli David, the man who was probably currently plotting Tony's downfall. Senior walked behind them, flirting with a young girl who had a thick British accent, probably giving her his number while boasting about his many important contacts from around the world.

"Here we go." Tony said, taking Ziva's hand. She looked up at him with an expression he couldn't quite gauge, one he'd only seen once or twice in his life. Suddenly it hit him, what Ziva's expression reminded him of. It was the one she'd had in Somalia, when Saleem was about to kill her, the knife pressed against her neck. Fear.

"Tony, before we step out there." Ziva said, pulling Tony to a stop at the door separating them from the rest of the airport.

"What is it, Zi?" Tony asked, his eyebrows crinkling in confusion.

"I just have to tell you thank you. For always being there for me no matter what I said and did. You've been the best partner and friend I could ever have. I don't know what's going to happen to us when we go out there... And I just..." Ziva said, her voice thick with something unlike anything Tony had ever heard from her before. Tony frowned, wondering why Ziva was acting so unlike her usual self. It was extremely unnerving, especially paired with the fact that he might be dead in just a few moments.

"What are you trying to say, Ziva?" He wondered, glancing at the door, which he expected Eli David to come bursting out of any second now, armed with a Machine Gun, his sights set on Tony.

Tony was so worried about what was going to happen to him, and Ziva if Eli found out they were dating, once they stepped out of the door that he could barely think straight, much less concentrate on what Ziva was saying. Forcing his line of sight back towards her face, Tony realized that she seemed to be struggling with something, as if she didn't know whether to tell him something extremely important. He knew he had something important to tell _her_, something he'd wanted to tell her ever since he realized she wasn't dead three years ago. But he'd never been able to muster up enough courage to actually tell her, and was sure that he wouldn't be able to tell her now, especially because he wasn't sure how she felt towards him. Ziva's expression cleared, as if she had finally made her decision, and Tony stared at her, wondering if what she was about to say was what he'd dreamed of telling her since Somalia.

"Tony... I l-" She was cut off by Senior grabbing both her and Tony's arms, jerking them towards the door.

"Always getting distracted these two." He said, grinning at the British Girl. "What are you waiting for?" With that, he yanked the door opened and shoved them into the light.

...

"Eli!" Was the first thing Tony heard once he stepped, or rather, was shoved, into the bustling Tel-Aviv airport. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, he saw Senior smiling, shaking hands with Ziva's father, who was practically surrounded in body guards.

"Anthony!" He replied, forcing a smile. Senior grinned like a boy on his ninth birthday when Eli said his name, quickly turning to his son.

"Eli, you know my son, Tony." Senior said, yanking Tony forward and practically throwing him towards Eli David.

"Director David." Tony managed, shaking the man's hand and hoping that his own wasn't sweating too much. Eli stared him down, giving a look practically screaming 'if you make any sudden movements, I will kill you faster than you could say 'Mossad Assassin'.'

"Ziva." Eli finally said, almost shoving Tony away as he stared at his daughter.

"Fantastic, you two know each other! I guess there are no need for introductions, then." Senior announced, breaking the silence with his cheery tone. "Was I correct, are you two related?"

"Hello father." Ziva said, ignoring Senior, who was currently doing a double-take. Eli stepped forward, pulling Ziva into a hug. Ziva stiffened for a moment, as did Eli, and then it was over and the two were standing four feet away from each other once again, staring the other down.

"Ziva's your daughter?" Senior asked, more delighted than ever. "You never said anything, Eli! And Ziva, every time we talked about him, you never once thought to bring it up?"

"I didn't know if I should." Ziva answered simply, still staring at Eli. Tony bit his lip, knowing what was coming next. After all, his father's mind worked in mysterious ways, most of them pertaining to how high up on the food chain he could manage to get with just his charm.

"Well, this is ironic." He exclaimed, still smiling.

"How is this ironic?" Eli David asked, tearing his gaze away from his daughter to look at Senior with a purely confused expression.

"Considering that Junior and Ziva-" He was cut off by Tony practically falling on top of him, knocking him to the ground. "Junior!"

"Sorry, Dad. Ummm, foot spasm..." He said, standing up.

"So, should we get going?" Ziva asked before Senior could say anything more.

"Of course." Eli said, leading the group towards the exit of the airport.

Tony glanced down at Ziva, wondering how she was feeling. After all, she'd just seen her Father face to face for the first time in years, the father that had already practically ordered hers and her half-brother's death. Ziva glanced up at him, managing a small smile as the two finally stepped outside, all thoughts of what she was going to tell him earlier wiped from their minds.

**So what did you think? Sorry if Eli David's a bit out of character, I haven't seen an episode with him in it in forever. Anyways, review please! :**


	7. Chapter 7

**I haven't updated in months, and lets just say it, it seems I'm not very reliable when it comes to updating on time. Buuuutttttttt I wrote a super long chapter today and hopefully, maybe, possibly, if you like it could you forgive me?**

**Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS I would definitely give it to you for Christmas because that's how much I love you for putting up with me for so long! **

The driver pulled up the dingy hotel thirty minutes later, not ten seconds passing before Tony rushed from the car and sprinted towards the first bin in sight and retched up his insides. Ziva stepped out of the car with a concerned expression, unaware that the driver was going to swerve through the streets of Tel-Aviv like, well, her. Senior joined her a moment later, chuckling lightly and wrapping a furtive arm around her waist.

"Junior was never one for car rides." He murmured into her ear, his voice low. Ziva flinched and flashed Senior a fleeting smile, briefly reminded on the case she'd been required to go undercover with him in, before rushing towards Tony.

Tony turned, a fierce shiver wracking his body when he caught sight of Eli David emerge from the car and join his father. For the first time, a flash of fear sprung into his mind, and Senior's cold body lying under Eli David's shadow crossed his thoughts. Eli David was ruthless and possibly evil to the core, as he'd proven by sending his daughter on a death-mission, and Tony knew better than anyone that the man would do anything to hurt someone he didn't like. If he couldn't hurt Tony physically, he'd hurt him mentally, and the first step towards that would be taking out his father.

"Tony?" Ziva asked, her eyes shining with worry as she reached her partner. "Are you okay?"

Tony felt a lie on the tip of his lips before shooing it away and admitting the fears dwelling in the depths of his mind. "No. No, I'm not all right, Ziva. You know why?" He saw Ziva's shell harden as she prepared herself for the answer. "Because we might never get back the the good ole US of A. We might never see Abby or Gibbs or McGee or Ducky or even Palmer again. But do you want to know the worst part? You might die here, Ziva. You could be killed today, or tomorrow, or even next Tuesday. And there's no way to know when it'll happen or prepare for it! My own father's in danger! For all we know, the whole team could be in danger. This mission could be bogus, it probably is, and we might be walking straight into a deathtrap."

"Tony…" Ziva was unsure of what to say, having been confronted with her own greatest fears. "It will not come to that. Gibbs would not let us come if there was a possibility that it could."

He nodded, trying to believe her, knowing there was really no other choice but to hold onto each word she said. The truth was, they had to believe they'd be alright. Because believing anything else would be accepting their death, and Tony had never been famous for that.

"Junior! Come see your new suite!" Senior called, heading for the front door of the beat up hotel, sweeping the dust that already seemed to envelope him off of his Armani suit.

Tony took Ziva's hand in his, managing a reassuring grimace, and returned to the car to gather their suitcases. Unwilling to let go of each other's hands and break the bond that seemed to fill their hearts with a glimmer of hope, Tony and Ziva moved towards the door of the hotel slowly, knowing that once in the proximity of Eli David, they'd have to drop their fingers and their desires to return home safely, just as they'd promised Abby just hours before.

"Ziva, I would like you to meet Lea Katz and Natan Klein. They are the Mossad agents I have assigned to the case." Eli David stated as the two entered the dim lobby, dropping their hands grudgingly. "They will be accompanying you in the search for Christopher Bond."

"I am Lea Katz." A lean girl who appeared to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years old said, stepping out of the shadows. She had a thick accent and dark brown hair that was as wild as Ziva's had been seven years before.

"And I am Natan Klein." Natan materialized behind her, his deep voice echoing around the room. "I have heard much of you, Ziva David." He said in Hebrew, giving her a sly grin. "I look foreword to learning much more about you… Personally." He drawled.

Tony stiffened, unsure of what the man was saying but recognizing the charming smile he'd given to so many women before flashing across the man's face. He cast a wary glance at Ziva, who seemed both taken aback and suspicious, and let out a sigh of relief. It looked like he had one less thing to worry about this week, and his relationship was going to stay intact after all.

"I will show you to our rooms." Lea said, brushing past Natan as she headed for the staircase. Natan quickly followed, winking lightly at Ziva as he turned.

"I suppose that's our queue to leave." Senior chuckled, smiling good-naturedly at Eli David. "I better head back to DC, Eli."

"Yes. I will be joining you. I would like to be in America in case Bond escapes from Israel and heads for Washington." Senior nodded, delighted. He pulled Ziva into a hug, careful to control his wandering hands with her father so close in proximity. Pulling back, he patted his son on the back before marching to Eli David's side.

"Goodbye Junior, I'll see you back in DC in a week." He grinned before turning and exiting the hotel. Eli David quickly followed, ignoring his daughter's wide eyes at his refusal at giving her even the briefest of goodbyes, and let the door slam shut behind him. The noise reverberated around the room and Ziva felt a pang deep in her chest. Although she'd given up on Eli years before, replacing him with Gibbs, a father who loved her more than her own Biological one ever could, at times she yearned for the contact of her own flesh and blood. Eli was one of her only blood-relatives left in the world, and even though she had a family of her own back at NCIS, she wished for something else.

"We better head upstairs, Ziva." Tony said, taking her hand once more. Ziva looked up at him with a pained expression that wasn't unfamiliar to him, and he nodded knowingly in response, pressing his lips to her temple before leading her towards the staircase, suitcases still clutched in their clammy hands.

…..

The pair met Lea and Natan in the hallway at the very top floor of the hotel. The pair held nothing but small black duffel bags and were sharing cunning glances, as if they ones something that Tony and Ziva did not. For a moment, Tony wished the two NCIS agents had been assigned to the mission as well, but knew that it wouldn't do them any good. It wouldn't matter to Eli if he were killing four agents or two, as long as they were dead, he was fine with whatever might occur.

"There are two rooms." Natan stated, casting Ziva a seductive glance. "I shall be with Ziva in one, and Lea will be with Anthony in the other."

"It's Tony and I don't think so." Tony laughed humorlessly, shaking his head.

"Is there a problem, Anthony?" Natan asked, raising an eyebrow, as if he was questioning whether Tony wanted him to report their conversation to Daddy David.

"Ziva and I have some business to attend to regarding a case back in DC, and we'll be staying up all night doing it. I don't want to keep you up." Tony replied coldly.

"No worries, I was planning staying up all night, anyways." Natan winked at Ziva again.

"Listen Buddy, I don't know how you do things here in Israel, but in America we respect other's business." _And other guy's girlfriends._ He added in his head, glaring at the man.

"No worries." Natan held up his hands. "I am sure that Ziva and I will have more time to spend together after I know more about her. I was planning on calling your father to report back about the case, and it looks like we'll have something to talk about." With that, he disappeared into his room, Lea trailing him, and slammed the door with a thump.

Tony let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before pushing into their own room, waiting for Ziva to sit down on the bed tensely, before closing the door behind him. "One bed." He scoffed, imagining Natan's previous notions.

"Tony, that was not funny." Ziva remarked as Tony collapsed on the bed beside her. "He is going to report back to my father, and you are well aware of what that will lead to."

"Ziva, I was sure as h-." He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "I was not going to let you spend the night with that creep." He shivered involuntarily. "Can you even imagine what he was planning to do with you? I'm pretty sure talking wasn't part of his plan."

"I can take care of myself." Ziva stated, steeling herself. Tony shook his head, sitting up to look her in the eyes.

"That's not the point, Ziva."

"So what is _the point_, Tony?" Ziva sneered, raising an eyebrow.

"The point is I'm not letting you out of my sight this week, Ziva. I know you can kill him in an instant with any supply near you, even a paperclip…" He trailed off with a small smile before shaking his head and getting back to his point. "But for my sanity, would you please not _leave my side_?" He asked with pleading eyes. "If something happened to you, Ziva. If he laid one finger on you or even _thought_ about touching you, I don't know what I'd do." Tony stopped, his mind flashing back to the summer after he killed Michael Rivkin, when the prospect of Ziva being dead was likely and his world seemed to fall apart before his eyes. When he first laid eyes on her in Somalia, when he could finally be sure that she was alive, Tony had made a promise to himself that he'd never let anyone, _anyone_, hurt Ziva ever again.

"Tony…" Ziva trailed off, sighing deeply.

"I know, Ziva. Nothing is going to happen. But in case it does, please don't leave my side." Ziva nodded, wanting to be with Tony as much as he yearned to be with her while they faced down death.

"Okay, Tony."

Tony let out a relieved sigh, a mischievous smile crossing his face as he stood and locked the door. "Sooo, Zee-vahhh, what do you want to do tonight? We have all night to 'attend to some business'. I'm pretty sure we won't be interrupted."

Ziva snorted, rolling her eyes and leaning over to unzip her suitcase. With a flourish, she yanked a book from the contents and headed for the bed. "I know exactly what I would like to do." She grinned at him, sitting down on the faded blanket and cracking the book open. Tony groaned, dropping onto the bed beside her.

"Maybe I'll just go see what Lea's up to then." He muttered, no heart behind his words.

"Too bad we are 'attending to some business' and cannot leave the room." Ziva replied sarcastically, smirking as she turned the page of her book and Tony pulled the pillow behind him on top of his head.

"What's the point of spending a week across the world from your boss if you can't even break a few rules?" Ziva chuckled at Tony's muffled voice, rolling her eyes.

"I should have asked Vance to let McGee come instead of you. He'd be much less… Whiny."

Tony pulled the pillow off his head to glare at her before sighing deeply and heading for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. I smell like my Dad's cologne. I swear, he completely doused himself before getting on the plane. I could practically see it radiating off of him in waves!" Tony exclaimed with a scowl. "I'll be out in five minutes… Unless, of course, you want to join me…?"

He was answered with a pillow in the face.

…..

Tony awoke that night not by Ziva's snores, which he'd gotten used to in the past weeks, but a piercing scream. He sat up in bed, his eyes flashing to Ziva, who was tossing and turning, tears streaming down her face. She choked on a sob and let out another bloodcurdling scream, sending a shivers down Tony's spine and tears to his own eyes.

"Ziva! Ziva, wake up! Wake up!" He shook Ziva violently, letting out a gasp of frustration when she didn't open her eyes, instead crying out again.

"No!" She yelled, fighting with the sheets around her. "Please, please don't!" Tony had never heard Ziva plead with anyone before, and hearing it now ripped his heart apart.

"Ziva, it's just me, Tony! Wake up, please, wake up Ziva!" She screamed again. "ZIVA!"

With a jolt, Ziva's scream was cut off and her eyes flashed open, darting around the room. Her eyes flashed to his face and she began to kick him with all her might, breathing hard.

"Ziva! Stop! It's Tony!" Tony yelled as she again tried to shove him away. With a gasp of recognition, Ziva grew still and looked at her partner with terrified eyes.

"Tony I am-" She stopped, unable to continue as her vision burred and she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Shhh, Ziva, it's okay." Tony breathed, pulling her to him and rocking her back and forth until her heart-wrenching sobs quieted. "You're okay, Ziva. It's all going to be okay."

A moment later, Ziva pulled away from him, her face a light pink in the rays of moonlight splashing through the blinds. She looked down with an ashamed expression, barring her heart and turning away from him.

"Ziva, are you okay?" Tony asked, his voice low with terror.

"I am fine, Tony." Ziva muttered, sinking back down onto the mattress. Tony shook his head, sighing deeply as he lay down beside her.

"No your not. Ziva, look at me." Ziva slowly faced him, avoiding his eyes.

"Tony, it was a nightmare. I am fine."

"Ziva." Tony pressed a hand to her flushed cheek. "You're not. What was your nightmare about." When she didn't respond, he persisted. "Somalia?"

Ziva let out a shaky breath, for once in her life trying not to seal herself off from those who tried to reach out to her, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that said Tony would leave her if she told him what she dreamt about. She'd never explained to Ray why on some nights she'd wake up screaming, instead avoiding the topic at all costs. But Tony was her partner, she'd known him for seven years and knew that if she could trust anyone, it was him. She nodded slowly, letting out another breath.

"What happened in Somalia, Ziva?" Tony demanded, his voice a whisper.

"I was weak." A tear slid down Ziva's face. "I shouldn't have let them get to me, but I did. Tony, I thought I was going to die. I was prepared to die. They convinced me that I was worthless. My father had abandoned me to die, and I realized that I had left the only family I had. Tony, my own father didn't want me, and everyone at NCIS despised me for leaving… But that wasn't the worst part. I knew that I was alone and that maybe I was better to die than to face… Saleem every day… At times, I begged for my death to come."

Tony let out an angry breath, his heart going cold. "Ziva. Listen to me. You are _not_ worthless. You are _not _ weak. You're the most beautiful, strong, priceless woman I have ever met. If I could, I'd kill Saleem over again just for hurting you. It kills me to know that for _months_ he tortured you and held you captive from everyone who loved you. Ziva, without you, NCIS wasn't complete. _I_ wasn't complete. We need you, Zi, like the air we breathe. You're a part of us all." Tony's fists clenches as he thought of her father. "I will _never_ let anyone _ever_ hurt you. If you were ever taken away from me, I don't know what I'd do."

Ziva remained silent, in disbelief of everything Tony was saying. She couldn't let herself believe that someone needed her. If she did, in the end they'd just be taken away.

"Ziva, listen to me. I know you're afraid of me and Gibbs and Abby and McGee and everyone leaving you, not wanting you." Tony began, looking into Ziva's eyes. "But that's _never going to happen_. We'll always need you."

"Why?" Ziva asked, her heart breaking over again as she asked the one question that had plagued her whole life. Why would someone need _her_, of all people?

"Why? Because we love you! We love how you always threaten us with office supplies, and never miss a trick when it comes to our pranks. We love how you mess up American idioms and how whenever we correct you, you get that adorable scowl. We love how you secretly watch all of the movies I reference, even if you care not to mention it. I love how you hate having to constantly correct people when they pronounce David wrong, and how you were so adamant about becoming an American citizen. I love how you seem to have eyes on the back of your head and are the stealthiest spy when we're snooping around McGee's desk. I love how we can eat pizza and drink coffee in the rain and always end up on top of each other. I love your killer widow's peak and gorgeous brown eyes and how you secretly care about everyone on Gibbs's team more than you like to let on…." He trailed off, his eyes going wide as he realized he'd stopped speaking of why the team loved her a while ago, and instead admitted something that was currently making his cheeks flush dark red.

"Tony…" Ziva began, searching her mind for the ability to form any further words.

Tony's eyes hardened, expecting her to continue with a downplay of who she was and all she'd done to change his life. "No, Ziva would you just listen to me for _one minute_? Because all throughout your life, ever since Tali died, you've been blaming yourself. You never think you're worth it! But for one minute can you just throw all the things your father and Saleem and whoever the heck else has drilled into your mind and realize that you're the most amazing woman I've ever met and that I'm so freaking in love with you that I'd throw whoever even thought about hurting you straight in Gibbs's line of fire?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

**I hate cliffhangers with a passion, **_**so**_** I'll be updating as soon as possible. Let's say this Wednesday? Pinkie promise? (Plus, let's be serious. Do you really think Ziva's **_**not**_** going to tell Tony she loves him? It's been seven years!) Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Merry Christmas! I didn't have the chance to update Wednesday because of severe writers block and then lost internet while traveling until today. So **_**please**_** just try to ignore my tardiness and focus on the adorableness that is Tiva? I wrote this during an eight hour car ride, during which I was **_**this close**_** to going completely Ninja-Ziva on my sisters… Although I did threaten them with paperclips more than once. **

**Disclaimer: NCIS isn't mine, but I'd **_**love**_** to know what's going to happen involving Ziva and Eli in the next episode.**

"So, Eli, my son and your daughter. How's that for a connection?" Senior winked, sliding his suitcase under the seat in front of him. The flight attendant slid by, giggling when Senior flashed her the DiNozzo smile, before turning and offering the two agents accompanying them back to NCIS peanuts.

"Yes. Ziva is very professional. Although I am not sure your son has the same opinions on what is professional and what is not." Eli David replied, his expression darkening. "I do not approve on the way that Anthony is… rubbing off on Ziva."

"Excuse me, sir. Will you please buckle your seatbelt? We're taking off soon." The flight attendant said, brushing her hair behind her ear with another giggle.

"Why don't you buckle it for me?" Senior chuckled, raising an eyebrow at the agent across the aisle shooting him dirty looks. With a nervous laugh, she backed down the aisle, whispering to her coworker. "I'd be surprised if Junior wasn't rubbing off on Ziva!"

"Because Gibbs has decided to force them into every case together and convince Ziva to stay in DC?" Eli sneered as the plane lifted off the ground.

"And because Ziva seems quite smitten with my son. Eli, they're together." Senior chuckled, flashing Eli a charming smile.

"Together?"

"Yes. They're in a pretty serious relationship, and if I'm not mistaken, I think they'll be a few mini DiNozzos on the way in no time." Senior grinned, hoping to strike up a business deal over a friendly conversation about what they'd name their grandchildren.

The boomingslew of Hebrew curse words that flew out of Eli's mouth next could be heard clearly back in DC.

…..

Tony and Ziva sat in silence. Unlike the comfortable silence that accompanied their movie nights, when only the explosions and gunfire of James Bond could be heard in the apartment, this eerie quiet was nothing less than terrifying. Tony's heart was beating out of his chest. He'd told Ziva he loved her, and instead of a proclamation of her love yelled back to him, she sat beside him quietly, her face shrouded in shadow. He wondered if he should have taken Natan up on his offer to share a room with Leah, but knew that if he had, his life would be no easier. At least this way, Ziva finally, after years and years, knew why he was unwilling to live without her.

Meanwhile, Ziva's whole world had just been turned upside down and then flipped backwards in the matter of two seconds flat. He loved her. He _loved _her. _He_ loved her. Tony DiNozzo loved _her_. On top of that, he wasn't dying, or only dating her because her father had ordered him to, or a killer. He was her partner, who she'd trusted unconditionally for the past 7 years with her _life_ no less. And he. Loved. Her. So why couldn't she say anything?

It might have been the pure shock, or maybe the fear that if she said anything, the moment would break and something would happen to ruin it. Because _of course_ she loved him to. It terrified her, but she did none the less. Taking a deep breath, and yelling at herself to man up, Ziva looked Tony square in the face and opened her mouth to respond.

"I- I love you… also."

_RINNNGGGG!_ Tony fell off the bed in surprised, clutching his chest and muttering about heart palpitations. Ziva jumped about four feet in the air before reaching for the phone that was thumping up and down on the night stand with a shaking hand. Flipping it open, she pressed it to her ear with a grimace.

"ZIVA DAVID!" Tony's head poked over the side of the bed, his eyes widening with terror as he recognized Eli's gruff voice shouting at Ziva over the phone. It sounded like gibberish to him, but Tony knew without a doubt in his mind that Eli was probably uttering every cuss word he knew at Ziva.

"Father…" Ziva began as the curse words quickly turned to death threats regarding Tony's continuing existence on this planet.

"Ziva as soon as this plane lands in DC I'm coming back to bring you back to Mossad! Obviously the Americans have brainwashed you to think that this is acceptable but…" His words quickly regressed back to profanities and Ziva held the phone away from her ear, biting back a retort.

"Ziva?" Tony slowly climbed back onto the bed, his eyes roaming to room to check for bugs.

Suddenly, Ziva snapped and all the pent up anger she'd been holding against her father for years came rushing back to her. Al the memories of the thousands of times her father had harmed her or abandoned her flew into her mind. She was in her father's office, her heart pounding as Eli told her to take out Ari back in America. She was back at Mossad, meeting Michael Rivkin for the first time, unknowingly falling into the trap her father had set for her. She was in Tel-Aviv, discovering that her relationship was all part of a bigger picture. She was in Somalia, her life dwindling, wondering if Eli even thought about her anymore, or if everything was just part of the bigger plan. Blood ran thicker than water, but money and power could get both. Countless times, Eli had abandoned her, sent people to frame her, bring her back to Mossad, and shut her out. Ziva had grown up not expecting to ever have the chance at love, or even living past thirty. All of a sudden, she had that chance. Tony was all but handing it to her on a silver platter. And Eli was not going to ruin the thing she'd been searching for of years from her.

"No." Her voice was soft at voice, but it slowly gained volume as her Hebrew gained speed. "No, father. You cannot tell me what I can and cannot do."

"And why not? Ziva you are my daughter." Eli replied harshly, ignoring the uncomfortable looks Senior was giving him.

"Really? Are you sure? Because the past few years you have not been acting like it. I am only your daughter, it seems, when it is convenient for _you_." Tony's eyes widened and he glanced at the door, worried Natan would come bursting in any moment.

"Ziva, listen to me. These Americans-"

"No, I do not want to hear what you have to say about Americans. I don't care about your opinion anymore. Father, you may be blood, but you aren't family." With that, she snapped the phone shut and dropped it on the ground.

"Well, I'd safely say we're not going to be invited to spend Hanukkah with Eli anytime soon." Tony said, frowning when instead of throwing him out the window, Ziva cracked a very un-Ziva smile.

"No. I do not think so." Ziva replied, sinking back under the covers.

"So about that thing you said earlier…" Tony lay down beside Ziva, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Which thing? The part about Eli?" Tony shook his head, grinning. "The part about you taking a shower alone?" He rolled his eyes. "No? Then I do not know what you are talking about."

"Ziva, you love me, just admit it." He sighed, winking at her.

"I thought I already did?" Tony grinned at her, slowly inching his way closer. They were only millimeters apart when the phone let out another shrill ring.

"Okay, we really need to learn to put our phones on vibrate." Tony announced, sitting up and grabbing the phone. He whipped it open and slammed it down on his ear. "Hello? Can whoever's calling wait a few minutes? Thanks-" He was in the midst of ending the call when a voice emerged from the phone and sent chills down his spine.

"DiNozzo!" Tony pulled the phone back to his ear, biting back a groan.

"Boss! I was just testing the… phone skills that you taught us. Very effective, don't you think?" Tony chattered, eyes widening.

"Try that again and you'll find yourself using those 'skills' to direct people to the nearest Olive Garden." Gibbs barked into the phone.

"Yes Boss, got it Boss." Tony yelled, glaring at Ziva, who sat beside him snickering. "So, why'd… um... you call?"

"I just got a call from Eli David who seemed pretty pissed, that mean anything to you DiNozzo?" Tony's heart dropped. "He said something about the rotten DiNozzo blood tarnishing his family tree-?"

"Boss I-"

"DiNozzo, I don't care how pissed Eli David is, usually. But when you're in Tel-Aviv with _his_ Mossad Assassins, getting death threats is a problem."

"It wasn't really my fault-"

"I don't care whose fault it was, DiNozzo. You're the Senior Field Agent and you should be looking out for your partner. Ziva might be able to kill him 19 different ways with a paperclip, but she's not invincible. Take care of her." With that, the line went dead.

Tony honestly thought Gibbs had just set a new record for words-per-minute. He needed to document this, or something. Abby would be beyond herself when she heard about this.

"Tony? What did Gibbs say?" Ziva questioned warily.

"He threatened to make me a telemarketer…" Tony muttered, groaning. Ziva snickered, ducking back under the covers. Tony slid beside her, raising an eyebrow. "Soooo, Zee-vah, where where we?"

"Go to sleep, Tony. You do not want to be tired if we are working with Mossad. Trust you."

"You mean trust me."

"That is what I said, Tony."

"No, you said- oh, never mind. Night Ziva…"

Ten minutes later, when Ziva's snores had successfully filled the room and were possibly rocking the windowpanes, Tony lay awake, staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. So much had happened in the past two hours. He still couldn't believe that Ziva had been having nightmares for the past three years and hadn't said a word. That was more believable than him admitting his… love…. for her. And her admitting it back.

…..

Tony and Ziva entered the Lobby the next morning with bags under their eyes and a fresh coating of dust covering their clothes. They'd locked their things up earlier in the hotel safe and were both eagerly looking foreword to the plane ride home at the end of the week. Natan and Leah soon joined them, sharing knowing looks with each other, each slipping various weapons into their clothing.

"So, you two had a lot of business to take care of last night?" Natan asked with a sly smile.

"Yes, we could hear you until very late at night." Leah nodded, raising an eyebrow under her dark hair. "What did you have to do?"

"Work related things." Tony replied, his stomach growling loudly.

"Really? Ziva, we could hear you especially. I actually thought about coming over myself and… joining the party." Natan said, his grin widening.

Ziva flashed him a smile, jabbing Tony in the side when he opened his mouth to tell Natan off. "Well, I am, what Americans call, a screamer."

**Ah references to old episodes, don't you love 'em? I'll have the next chapter up by the New Year! Review!**


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